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Republic of Montrazo
The Republic of Montrazo is a small European-esque unitary constitutional semi-monarchial democratic republic that has pledged its allegiance to the Kongeriget Danmark, a Project Terra alliance led by EarlofSandon of Danmark. The people of the Republic of Montrazo speak or are taught the Montrazan language, of which there is an example in the "Language" section below, and are free to practice whichever religion they desire, even if it is a non-religious lifestyle. The Republic has been functioning continually and without interruption since 13 Jun 1761 AD, now a national holiday. The day's celebrations can be equated to the United States holiday "Independence Day." The nation's national anthem is "Freewill" by Rush. Geography Montrazan terrain is flat near the borders of the nation, covered with ancient farms, towns, small hills, creeks and two major rivers flowing out of the souther borders and into the sea (the Mortes and the Rinevel). The Mortes and Rinevel Rivers both originate in a range of larger hills and yet taller dormant volcanic mountains near the east-center part of the country, the highest point being Rassus Mons at more than 1800 meters, the namesake of "Montrazo." Where there are not mountains, the land is semi-forested and heavily agricultural except in the cities. {C}{C}{C} Government The government of Montrazo is that of a unitary constitutional semi-monarchial democratic republic, with a direct-democratic system in which the citizens' votes themselves count to elect government officials into office in two of the three branches: The Executors The Executors are the governmental officials that propose and sign laws into service. The executive positions in order of authority are the Consuls (there are always two); Vice President; Foreign Minister; Treasury Minister; Economic & Financial Minister; Defense Minister; Attorney General; Interior Minister; Agricultural Minister; Commercial Minister; Labor Minister; Health Minister; Development Minister; Transportation Minister; Energy & Resource Minister; Education Minister; Veterans' Minister; Republican Longevity Minister. {C}{C} The Judiciary The Judiciary is the group of nine judges appointed by the President of the Republic, not elected, to maintain the Constitutional integrity of the Republic. They serve until death or permanent resignation as they are expected not to be influenced by politics or political agendas. {C}{C} The Popular Forum The Popular Forum is the legislative branch of the Montrazan government. This group of 500 representatives has absolutely nothing to do with the election system, which is entirely direct-democratic, but instead serve only to pass laws and form committes to accomplish goals in government. Currently it is dominated by Unitary-Republicans. The Vox Pluribus is the most senior member of the majority, and is the Forum's representative to the Judiciary and the Executors. {C} Royal Family Members of the Royal Family are the emotional and symbolic leaders of the Republic. Though they have little actual power, they are there to maintain the good morale of the nation and foster good feelings. Every male in the family has served in the military since time immemorial, even before the Republic was established in 1761 AD, and they are extremely well-liked and respected among the population of Montrazo, yet not considered "godlike" as in many monarchies. The Royal Family is confined to the direct family of the King and Queen, but their family members who are more extended are authorized for entrance to the King's palace at any time. Politics Politicians in the Republic of Montrazo are divided into four parties: #'Unitary-Republicans' dominate the Forum now because of the fact that there are so many of them in the country. Unitarianism is the preferred form of government throughout the state because of the state's relatively small size. #'Federal-Republicans' are the second most popular party because there is a substantial portion of the Montrazan population that thinks the previous system of city-states and duchies should be restored to be federally governed by a central government. They feel as if unitarianism removes individual liberties. This is discounted by many, including the entirety of the Judiciary. #'EnvirActivist Party' members constitute a vast minority in the Forum. These environmentally friendly politicians generally agree with the Unitary-Republican unitarianist view #'Royal Familiar Forumors' can never be elected consul, nor can any one ever become a Vox Pluribus both by law and by numerical possibility. They are merely there to cast their votes to represent the Royal Family's views on the action of the government. They are able to serve on committees, however. Culture, Religion and Language Culture Montrazan culture is mainly centered around music and sport. Sport The two most popular sports in the Republic are Rugby Union and paintballing. There is a Montrazo National Rugby Football Club (Montrazo Nat'l RFC) that often competes in domestic and international tournaments. The club's 2011 record was W 11-2 L. Most of the schools and the university in Montrazo have Rugby clubs, and the sport is very well-attended at the parks and stadiums. Paintballing is another extremely well-participated sport in Montrazo. Almost every male and most women over the age of twelve go paintballing relatively regularly, at one of the three companies that run bordering land plots dedicated to paintballing: Hail of Paint, Central Paintballing, and Woodsball Haven. Every year on 13 June, as the nation celebrates Republican Day, the three companies join together to host a 72-hour-long triple-marathon battle. Each year, over 10,000 Montrazans over the age of 12 are split evenly into two teams and organized into divisions, regiments, and platoons and engage each other in a "Kill the General" type of game with another element of "Flag Control," where units attempt to take and hold checkpoints while also attempting to find the "commander" of the opposing team (wearing either a bright blue or bright red tunic), who is chosen from a pool of applicants randomly that day. If a player is hit, he or she is out for a time of 10 minutes and must walk back to the nearest checkpoint, and the team who, at the end of the 72 hours, owns the most checkpoints wins, unless the opposing team has killed that team's commander. In the case than neither commander has been hit, the victor is the owner of the most checkpoints. It is extremely popular among military servicemembers, and the team that has the majority of them often wins. Music Progressive metal is without a doubt the most popular music genre in Montrazo. Many citizens prefer it over rap, hip-hop, country, and most other genres, with rock being close behind in ratings. The underground metal scene thrives in the city of Montrazo, as well as towns and the like around it. Popular bands include Dream Theater, Jethro Tull, Periphery, and TesseracT, among others. It is a little known fact that the American band Pantera has indeed become somewhat of a cult in the Republic, though not a troublesome one, and murdered guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell has become an almost god-like figure. A recent poll executed by the University of Montrazo indicated that as many as 95 percent of Montrazans had listened to Pantera within the last 48 hours. Another little-known fact is that well-known Canadian progressive rock band Rush's song "Freewill" is the national anthem of the Republic of Montrazo. Religion The most dominant religion in the Republic is Christianity, with several sects represented, and there are many non-Christian religions represented as well, including Judaism, Islam, Bahai'ism, and Confucianism. The Constitution of Montrazo prevents the persecution of or crimes against religious groups as long as these groups act peacefully. Language {C}{C}Here is a sample text in the Montrazan language, first in English, and after with a literal translation. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 1: English: '''All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood. '''Montrazan: '''Tòud thuiman sin lìberann agus anleic seran in dhèghenagh agus reiht. Tœchert ved rèsun agus cànnsens sin den, agus eigatt den gòterannaget in spùiret fròternaghetinnan. '''Literal translation: All humans are freely and equally born in dignity and right. Presented with reason and conscience are they, and to-one-another they should act in brotherly spirit. The language is classified in a sugroup of Romance languages, Celti-Germanic Romance, and there are several mutually intelligible regional dialects spoken in and in the neighboring areas of Montrazo, some of which are considered separate languages. None of these are recognized by the government, as Modern Standard Montrazan is intelligible with all the dialects. Foreign Policy Montrazo generally enjoys peace with neighboring countries, save for an ongoing feud with the Duchy of Argonie in the north about ownership of a strategically valuable town called Sìn Cliaran (St. Clair's) on a large commercially-used river. Around the town, there have been several battles over control, and in 1898, there was a full-scale war in the area between Montrazo and Argonie, eventually won handily by Montrazo. Otherwise, peace is in the best interest of the nation, as expressed by The King Frederic IV, who expressed in November 2011 that Montrazo has unanimously passed a non-expansionist bill, wherein it is established that the Republic will not seek to expand its borders merely for the purpose of imperialism, but only if absolutely necessary. Montrazo is part of the Kongeriget Danmark, an alliance that stands for democracy and freedom of its members' citizens, and has a high level of military and economic power. Through the alliance, Montrazo can engage in mutually beneficial foreign relations or fight wars with increased efficiency. Military The Republican Army & Air Corps and Republican Navy & Marine Corps are the two branches of the Montrazan Fœrsefœret Riupùblichann, or MFR. The Montrazan government does not draft citizens unwillingly into the forces and all members are both professional and voluntary. Some non-violent and sane criminals are given the opportunity to serve to clear prison room, but are not allowed in front-line positions, and only in artillery, logistics and support units, Air Corps ground units, or certain unarmed positions in the Navy. Enlistments are for 2, 4, or 6 years. Recruits and Officer Candidates are not Soldiers, Airmen, Sailors, nor Marines until they are graduated from the Joint School of Warfare. Recruits and OCs from both branches go through this difficult and intense three-month warfighting school to mold them into hardened, mentally and physically tough warriors capable of withstanding the stresses of service. Common JSW events include forced runs of up to 5 miles without shirts in the winter, and medically-monitored forced marches of up to 12 miles with full battle gear and ruck in the summer. After JSW, Soldiers, Airmen, Sailors and Marines attend their occupational school on their respective bases. All military personnel must be able to pass the Joint Service Physical Fitness Test, wherein the servicemember must complete at least 20 chin-ups, execute 45 push-ups in 1 minute, hold a frontal plank for 1:30 minute, and run 4 miles in 25 minutes. The regulations are loosened for older service members. Army & Air Corps The Army is the main ground-based force of the military. They are responsible for all land-based offensive and defensive operations and are charged with "engaging and closing with the enemy by fire and maneuver in order to carry out, obtain, or reach the objective." Soldiers must be between the ages of 17-21 to enlist, with waivers for those older, and may serve until the age of 55. The Army traces its roots back to 1761, when the newly democratic government reformed the military and modernized it from an entirely ceremonial group to a fully-functioning and high-quality military force. Today, the Army wears woodland camouflage (as in the photograph) when on duty and is armed with the M4A4 rifle, a Montrazan modification of the M4A1, with 5.56x45mm round, the standard weapon for all rifle-bearing forces. Personnel carriers, armored vehicles and tanks are used to support and transport the infantry, the glue which binds all the elements of the military together. Navy & Marine Corps ''To be added.''